KrenZane
#~~~__!! SPOILER-FILLED REVIEW !!__~~~
___Ginga___ is a shooting star without the majesty clothed by the glow of its epithet, an eventual
meteorite causing a wreckage of my stargazing.
As a 1986 show (which is relatively old in my book), I thought I would add in more leniency when
reflecting upon the experience of sitting through a crudely directed 21-episode anime of hundreds of
wild talking dogs killing each other to finally kill a couple of bears that number less than the
episode count, but I confirmed that the same studio released ___Dragon Ball___ in the same year, and
Takahata's adaptation of ___Anne of Green Gables___ seven years prior. That is to say, all intent to
excuse the poorly-made decisions laden in the show was thrown out of the window when its peers and
superiors have far exceeded the canine mania in all accounts. Age is not a barrier to excellence after
all, just like how Gin's status as a young pup defied all odds and all his elders nonetheless.
Disillusionment reigned when the legendary (I dub it so) opening and piercingly nostalgic ending song
that sandwiched a powerful set of beginning episodes were betrayed by its contents as they slowly slob
into an unpalatable mess. ___Ginga___ brought in fate and destiny in a man's world, opened up an
avenue for creativity in collaborative action between a human and his bear dog against adversaries,
brewed an adorable protagonist with incredible rescue, problem-solving, battle, and leadership
intellect--as close to perfection as he should to provide due to his tiger-striped destiny (genetics),
and situated enough crumbs on the ground for the viewer to be seduced to its consumption. There was
plenty for me to be kept locked into immersion between my immense dislike of Grampa, the development
of Gin and Daisuke's relationship, the advent of John as an impetus for Gin's desire to be something
more, the fervor scented with testosterone sweat so thick in that village air, the moral weight of the
hunt, and the looming threat of Akakabuto who indeed felt like a mountainous obstacle. I was so ready
to put myself in stereotypical gender norms and become a youthful fellow very masculine and thirsty
for honor, pride driving my wheels in a dog eat dog planet (I was reading ___Little Women___ on the
side as well. Unintentionally squeezed by both the ascribed "feminine" and "masculine" auras
simultaneously was entertainment to another level LOL). I was raring to go and floor it, but man did
my energy grow lax.
Shoddy direction was the main culprit. Starting from the dog recruitment arc around the 9th episode,
the cracks began to show.
You can't expect diplomacy from dogs. Even fiction couldn't leash their instincts to resist hostility,
so I've no qualms about the way every stop boils down to a clash one way or another. I can't, however,
be captured by the conflict when the conflict is aggravatingly repetitive and often just for the sake
of it: Ben's platoon seeks peaceful negotiations but the recruitees oppose due to a very dumb
misunderstanding of the situation and thinking the Ou dogs colonizers. And sometimes even, there is
melodrama that plays out (that gets easily moved on from) which just feels so out-of-place and
awkwardly executed, it's like I'm watching an evening soap opera flick, __but with dogs!__ I do not
mind how when Benizakura died the blood on the lake formed a perfect sakura flower to resemble the old
doggo though. ___Ginga___ is so unserious sometimes I can't bear to hate on this male poetics.
Speaking of death, a notable one, truly much more notable than Riki and Akatora's deaths, is Terry's.
Yes, Terry, that 5th platoon commander who only appeared for one or two episodes and whose demise
became a huge enough deal for his name to be echoed in the chambers of a golden chapel resounding in
the lamentations of a holy choir whose enemies even chimed in to howl for his passing like the
memorable, irreplaceable character that he is. In fact, neither Akatora nor Riki, the damn boss, even
had that treatment. Truly, Terry was the greatest loss they ever had.
How quickly the developments were on those episodes though, as is everything else past episode 8. It's
like the team just wanted to get it done and over with, never mind processing the recurrent bloodfest
between wild dogs. One really can't tell a prophecy on their behavior for they oscillate between
discipline and rabidness, between full-fledged warmongering and reconciled peacemaking. One would
think they can be a bit more restrained due to the strong value and virtue system they all (most)
apparently share as a species, and one would think they would be more mindless of the consequences as
animals do. Instilling complex human emotions to essentially anthropomorphize the dogs without
properly solidifying the ratio of dogness and humanness is wonky writing that ruins the brunt of every
canine's substance.
Right, where's the balance here? It really took a huge 180 upon scrapping every human character there
ever was and focusing mainly on the dogs, deciding upon this route without much consideration of how
much of it as a fictional story should be taken as such. For one, it has dogs with special techniques
passed on just through genes without any instruction, spinning around like a drill with their fangs
on, moving faster than the speed of light, and becoming literal flying saucers that can snap Goliath's
head off. It's funny just thinking about it in and of itself and I love it, but it doesn't really fit
well with its own realism. Cohesiveness took its leave. Even for a fictional story it's important to
leash one's freedom when in the first place they already did so themselves by setting constraints to
the world.
As an additional sentiment, the dogs talk too much. They should have omitted an appropriate chunk of
talking dialogues and replace it with just barks, growls, whimpers, and other such emotive
expressions. Show-and-tell, not tell-and-tell bro. How do dogs sound like when they cry, when they're
cornered and afraid? How do they act in a wide array of emotions? They should have used doggo body
language at their disposal to convey what the characters are feeling because isn't what they're going
for at that point, a dog-only show? A lot of us came in for something dog-y too, for Gin as the poster
boy, a dog.
My feelings and thoughts just can't wrap up the mess and make it all make sense. There are too many
lapses in production and execution. The action is cool for its fantastical impossibilities, but it
wasn't enough to carry me through with a loving eye on the anime. How did Ben come alive after falling
down with Sniper? How did Hyena save him, if he did at all? Why hasn't he returned with Ben, someone
who should have been so much more in dire straits? Why did the Ou dogs feel like they actually don't
care much about their comrades at all, and are shown to be much closer to the new recruits, when they
were so tight-knit prior to the merge? Funny how only the heart of the cast is acknowledged, while the
supporting subordinates weren't even given much care. Like, for instance, when Smith gets injured, Gin
and co lose all their wits. When some other nameless dog gets killed--with utter brutality at
times--no one really bats an eye and grieves for them. And really, no dog gets injured enough for
treatment unlike Smith, Ben, and other Named because every Nameless dog gets KO'd. Not advocating for
more screentime dedicated for each fallen ally, but I do think it should have been basic to allow
their deaths to have more noticeable emotional effects.
I guess that's enough for my criticisms. Heading on with the story's intended takeways, I believe the
central theme revolves around overcoming fear through courage. Fear is an innate emotion in all living
things, one of the most primitive at that. As Grampa once said, the lack thereof is actually not a
profitable circumstance nor does it magically remove all of life's obstacles. He recounts a particular
bear dog who had no fear at all and eventually ran straight through to his death because of not having
any receptors for danger. And so, being numb and blunted in general could very well circle around
someone to take away their lives.
No, what's important is gathering courage to work through one's fears. With confidence employed
alongside it, great things are surely ahead. Gin's collected temperance allows him to adapt to every
situation through assessment of the situation and self-analysis that allows him to gauge the extent of
his strengths (majority of the time, at least). His courage earned him the respect of his seniors
through defiance of discrimination, enough to be handed the baton of leadership not even more than a
year through his birth. This very courage should be possessed by everyone, especially the males in
this case. The fact that humans weren't able to gather themselves unlike the compact solidarity of the
dogs around Japan that united under one cause that really doesn't affect them at all, is because the
men were sitting on excuses and passivity instead such that they didn't give it their all to stop the
"tyranny" of Akakabuto who threatened their fellowmen. Unlike the dogs who relished on the honor of
repaying gratitude and meting justice upon a villain, the humans didn't concern themselves enough with
the situation, only a handful did. It really does tell about our faltering will as opposed to the
unbending resolve of the dogs in the show.
We have a lot to learn from our best friends. Let us work on our weaknesses rather than simply
twiddling our thumbs and wishing upon a shooting star.
